Systems and methods for forming handles in furniture
Handles for furniture, and in particular handles for mattresses, may be made by, among other things, securing a piece of fabric along the perimeter of the mattress, and more particularly, by securing an excess section of border panel fabric to the side wall of the mattress so that the excess section of border panel forms a handle that can be gripped and manipulated by a user. Embodiments include furniture handles, such as handles for mattresses, cushions, futons and the like. In other aspects, methods for making such handles are shown including methods that secure an oversized border panel to the sidewall of a mattress such that a portion of the border panel can be folded over onto itself and formed into a handle.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Patent Application No. 60/618,648, filed Oct. 14, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDFrom time-to-time, consumers are required to lift and move heavy pieces of furniture either for cleaning the furniture or a rug under the furniture or to change its location. To enable such tasks, furniture pieces are generally equipped with handles. For example, mattresses often come with string or cord handles that either attach or form part of the side regions of the mattress, usually around the center, or at the ends. Even though these string handles are commonplace in mattresses and other furniture, and seem to work fairly well, they suffer from a number of drawbacks.
They are unsightly, somewhat difficult to manufacture and often only well positioned for use by a person of typical size, with a smaller person finding the spacing between handles to be too large to achieve a comfortable grip. Furthermore, string handles are typically affixed tightly to the furniture in an effort to camouflage them and make the furniture more visually appealing. However, this technique limits the handle's adjustability and can provide an uncomfortable grip for the person moving the furniture. A further disadvantage of string handles is they generally need a complex assembly process that can be costly and time-consuming.
Other types of popular handles include looped handles that are either attached superficially to the side border region of a mattress or are somehow linked with the insides of the mattress construction to increase strength. These suffer from similar drawbacks described for string handles. External devices that attach to furniture to aid in lifting and moving are also known. However, these are expensive and cumbersome and easily lost. As such they are not a practical solution for typical household applications.
Accordingly, there is a need for a handle system for furniture that has a large expanse of handle gripping locations, aesthetically blends in with the furniture, and is inexpensive and relatively easy to manufacture and use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe systems and methods described herein include improved furniture handles and improved methods for manufacturing furniture handles, such as handles for mattresses.
In one aspect the invention provides handles for furniture and the furniture that has these improved handle systems. In particular, various embodiments include furniture handles, such as handles for mattresses, cushions, futons and the like, where the handle is formed as a flap of fabric that is attached to the sidewall of the mattress or cushion to provide an extension of fabric that can be gripped by a user to move or otherwise manipulate the mattress. In one particular embodiment, these fabric handles extend around the full periphery of the mattress. In other aspects, the invention provides methods for making such handles including methods that secures as oversized border panel to the sidewall of the mattress such that a portion of the border panel can be folded over onto itself and formed into a handle.
More particularly, in one aspect, the systems and methods described herein include methods of forming a handle system for lifting and moving furniture. These methods may comprise the steps of providing a side border piece with dimensions larger than the dimension of the respective side border region of the furniture, and having at least one layer of upholstery and at least one layer of padding that are joined together. The side border piece is attached to at least one respective side border region of the furniture such that an excess piece of side border material folds onto itself to form an overlapped flap, and the portion of the overlapped flap that is closer to the fold is joined to the side border region of the furniture leaving a remaining portion of the overlapped flap to be used as a handle. Optionally, the remaining portion of the overlapped flap is trimmed with at least one layer of material. In such methods the side border region of the furniture may comprise an attached side border piece. The overlapped flap may surround the periphery of the furniture, or surround portions of the periphery of the furniture.
Optionally, a plurality of side border pieces may be attached in opposing orientations to form oppositely overlapped flaps, and the overlapped flaps may be split, separated or cut in at least one location along a direction parallel to the direction of lifting such that the continuum of handles is interrupted to form more than one discrete handle. Additionally, and optionally, the method may include a step of forming a cut in the overlapped flap to provide an aperture through which the user may place their hand or fingers. The cuts may be of rectangular or ovular or any closed form polygonal cuts made in the overlapped flaps and the material enclosed by the polygon to form additional discrete gripping locations. The furniture handle may be used with mattresses, including open coil, pocketed coil, coils in foam, all foam units, one-sided mattresses and two-sided mattresses. One layer of the mattress upholstery and padding are attached together by stitching, adhesive, or thermal bond. The padding may be foam padding.
In another aspect, the systems and methods described herein include systems for bedding. These bedding systems may comprise a mattress, and a side border piece with dimensions larger than the dimensions of the respective side border region of the mattress, and having at least one layer of upholstery and at least one layer of foam that are joined together. The excess piece of side border material folds over onto itself to form an overlapped flap.
In such systems, the overlapped flap may be used as a handle system to lift and move the bedding system. The handle system may comprise a continuum of multiple uninterrupted handles with a plurality of gripping locations. The overlapped flap may surround the periphery of the mattress, or may surround portions of the periphery of the mattress.
Optionally, the overlapped flaps may be split or separated or cut in at least one location along a direction parallel to the direction of lifting such that the continuum of handles is interrupted to form more than one discrete handle. One layer of mattress upholstery and foam are attached together by stitching, adhesive, or thermal bond. Additionally, and optionally, the system may include cuts in the overlapped flap to provide an aperture through which the user may place their hand or fingers. The cuts may be of rectangular or ovular or any closed form polygonal shape made in the overlapped flaps and the material enclosed by the polygon to form additional discrete gripping locations. The mattress may include open coil, pocketed coil, coils in foam, all foam units, one-sided mattresses and two-sided mattresses.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe following figures depict certain illustrative embodiments of the invention in which like reference numerals refer to like elements. These depicted embodiments may not be drawn to scale and are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.
These and other aspects and embodiments of the systems and methods of the invention will be described more fully by referring to the figures provided.
The systems and methods described herein will now be described with reference to certain illustrative embodiments, although the invention is not to be limited to these illustrated embodiments which are provided merely for the purpose of describing the systems and methods of the invention and are not to be understood as limiting in anyway. As will be seen from the following description, in one aspect the invention provides handles for furniture and the furniture that has these improved handle systems. In particular, the embodiments illustrated below include furniture handles, such as handles for mattresses, cushions, futons and the like, where the handle is formed as a flap of fabric that is attached to the sidewall of the mattress or cushion to provide an extension of fabric that can be gripped by a user to move or otherwise manipulate the mattress. In one particular embodiment these fabric handles extend around the full periphery of the mattress. In other aspects, the invention provides methods for making such handles including methods that secures as oversized border panel to the sidewall of the mattress such that a portion of the border panel can be folded over onto itself and formed into a handle.
The upholstery 102 and the padding 104 may be joined together typically by stitching, adhesion or thermal bonding. The upholstery material 102 and padding 104 may be joined together at many different locations and in
For the depicted handle 100, the component parts such as the upholstery 102 and the foam 104 may be conventional materials and components used in mattress manufacturing. For example, the upholstery 102 may be Nylon, cotton, polyester or any suitable material. The foam 104 may be polyurethane, as noted above, as well as Latex, Neoprene or another suitable material. Optionally and additionally strengthening material, such as a layer of polyvinyl chloride, a set of Kevlar™ fibers or other material may be provided as a layer that is disposed under or otherwise adjacent the foam 104 and upholstery 102. This additional and optional strengthening layer provides additional strength for the handle 100 for those applications where the object is heavy and additional support is desirable. One example may be for a king size mattress which can weigh over 200 lbs. Optionally and additionally to providing a strengthening layer, stitches 110 and 112 can be any suitable fiber with high tensile strength such as Nylon such that the handle system 100 maintains structural integrity during operation. Stitches 110 and 112 may be distributed non-uniformly such that there are more stitches in certain locations that are more likely to be used for gripping and fewer stitches in other locations along the side border of the mattress. Another optional and additional layer of fire resistant material, such as Kevlar™ FR barrier that is disposed under or otherwise adjacent the foam 104 and upholstery 102 may be used in any furniture cushion, including car seats, sofa cushions, and futons.
In particular,
In one embodiment, a single continuous handle may be employed such that the side border panel comprising at least one layer of upholstery and at least one layer of padding is one continuous entity and the overlapped flap formed therefore surrounds the periphery of the object. In another embodiment, the method shown in
Mattress assembly 176 is a two-sided mattress and as such it often becomes necessary to lift and rotate the sleeping surfaces of the mattress assembly. The straps 184 prevent the overlapped flaps 178 and 180 from falling over when they are on the side of the mattress 136 not being used. Other means of attachment could also be used without departing from the scope of the invention. Similar to the mattress assembly 162 shown in
In the mattress assembly 186 of
The overlapped flaps 202 and 204 are shown to be formed on two opposing lengthwise lateral side regions of the mattress. In one embodiment, additional overlapped flaps with gripping locations are formed on the head and foot side border regions of mattress 200 such that at least two additional persons can help with moving mattresses that are heavy or other difficult to move or manipulate. In another embodiment, holes are made at multiple locations along the length of the overlapped flap such that other lifting devices may lock in and lift and move the mattress 200.
In another aspect, the invention provides methods for manufacturing furniture handles and for manufacturing cushions, such as sofa cushions and mattresses having such handles. The handles may be manufactured as described above and used to form the mattresses and other products described.
Therefore, it may be seen that, among other things, a furniture handle, and in particular handle for a mattress, is provided which provides improved usability and manufacturability. While this invention has been described in specific detail with reference to the disclosed embodiments, it will be understood that many variations and modifications may be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the appended claims. For example, the mattresses may have two or more handles, located a different positions on the mattress. The handles may be provided on mattresses and other cushions, as well as on foundations, and other furniture frames that are typically upholstered, to provide these frames with an easy to use handle. The handles described herein may be used with any type of mattress, including a foam core mattress, or a mattress having a combination of foam and springs. The mattress may be one-sided or two-sided, and the number of handles provided may vary based on the number of sleeping surfaces of the mattress. In light of the all that is disclosed above, those skilled in the art will know or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the embodiments and practices described herein. Accordingly, it will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, but is to be understood from the following claims, which are to be interpreted as broadly as allowed under the law.
Claims
1. A method of forming a handle system for lifting and moving furniture, comprising the steps of:
- providing a side border piece with dimensions larger than the dimension of the respective side border region of the furniture, and having at least one layer of upholstery and at least one layer of padding that are joined together,
- attaching at least one side border piece to at least one respective side border region of the furniture such that an excess piece of side border material folds onto itself to form an overlapped flap,
- joining a portion of the overlapped flap that is closer to the fold, to the side border region of the furniture leaving a remaining portion of the overlapped flap to be used as a handle, and
- trimming the remaining portion of the overlapped flap with at least one layer of material.
2. A method as in claim 1 wherein the side border region of the furniture further comprises an attached side border piece.
3. A method as in claim 1 wherein the overlapped flap surrounds the periphery of the furniture.
4. A method as in claim 1 wherein the overlapped flap surrounds portions of the periphery of the furniture.
5. A method as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of side border pieces are attached in opposing orientations to form a plurality of oppositely overlapped flaps.
6. A method as in claim 1 wherein the overlapped flap is split or separated or cut in at least one location along a direction parallel to the direction of lifting such that the continuum of handles is interrupted to form more than one discrete handle.
7. A method as in claim 1 wherein a plurality of rectangular or ovular or any closed form polygonal cuts are made on the overlapped flaps and the material enclosed by the polygon is removed to form additional discrete gripping locations.
8. A method as in claim 1 wherein the furniture includes mattresses
9. A method as in claim 8 wherein the mattress comprises at least one of open coils, pocketed coils, coils in foam, all foam units, one-sided mattresses and two-sided mattresses.
10. A method as in claim 8 wherein the at least one layer of upholstery and the at least one layer of padding are attached together by stitching, adhesive, or thermal bond.
11. A method as in claim 1 wherein the padding includes foam.
12. A bedding system comprising:
- a mattress, and
- at least one side border piece with dimensions larger than the dimensions of the respective side border region of the mattress, and having at least one layer of upholstery and at least one layer of foam that are joined together and wherein an excess piece of side border material folds over onto itself to form an overlapped flap.
13. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein the overlapped flap is used as a handle system to lift and move the bedding system, the handle system comprising a continuum of multiple uninterrupted handles with a plurality of gripping locations.
14. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein the overlapped flap surrounds the periphery of the mattress.
15. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein the overlapped flap surrounds portions of the periphery of the mattress.
16. A bedding system as in claim 13 wherein the overlapped flap is split or separated or cut in at least one location along a direction parallel to the direction of lifting such that the continuum of handles is interrupted to form more than one discrete handle.
17. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein the at least one layer of upholstery and the at least one layer of foam are attached together by stitching, adhesive, or thermal.
18. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein a plurality of rectangular or ovular or any closed form polygonal cuts are made on the overlapped flaps and the material enclosed by the polygon is removed to form additional discrete gripping locations.
19. A bedding system as in claim 12 wherein the mattress comprises open coils, pocketed coils, coils in foam, all foam units, one-sided mattresses and two-sided mattresses.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 14, 2005
Publication Date: Apr 20, 2006
Applicant: Dreamwell, Ltd. (Las Vegas, NV)
Inventor: Derek Mallory (Janesville, WI)
Application Number: 11/250,730
International Classification: A47C 31/00 (20060101); A47C 31/08 (20060101);